Experience

As a microscope specialist I advise students and professors on the most suitable microscope and imaging technique for their research. I also offer extensive microscopy
training and educate them on image analysis (ImageJ, Autoquant and Imaris). With my background in molecular and cellular biology in a various organisms (plant, yeast, animal cells) I also provide
some advice on their biological set up conditions. As an operations manager of the microscopy Centre I'm in charge of maintenance of 6 light microscopes customized for fixed and for live
imaging with unique features like TIRF, high-speed confocal at high magnification. By providing highly sophisticated microscopes and skills, the Centre supports Concordia research in various fields: fondamental
knowledge in Life Sciences, Medical Research, Exercise Science and even Art!

"Anillin interacts with microtubules and is part of the astral pathway that defines cortical domains"

Animal cell cytokinesis occurs by the ingression of an actin-myosin contractile ring that bissects the parental cell. To control this process, one of the major
components is the cytoskeleton, a strong framework that insures the proper function of the cell. Using cultured human cancer cells (HeLa), which
constantly divide and invade a body, we focused on the key regulators of cytoskeleton regulation (e.g. anillin) that are absolutely required for cell division. Their in-depth molecular analysis can
uncover targets for the development of new cancer drug therapies. Based on highly sophisticated microscopes that allow ultra fast live-imaging we have shown
that astral microtubules restrict the accumulation and localization of contractile proteins (e.g. myosin) during mitosis, while the central spindle forms a discrete ring by directing RhoA in the
equatorial plane to activate the contractile ring. The sequestration of anillin by astral microtubules may alter the organization of cortical proteins to polarize cells for
cytokinesis.

The precise coordination of cell expansion and cell division is the underpinning of morphogenesis in living organisms.
Because of the immobile nature of plant cells, these processes must be precisely controlled in space and time. Therefore, vesicular trafficking in plant cells is subject to a sophisticated system of
cellular transport logistics, mediated by the cytoskeleton. By combining high temporal and spatial resolution laser scanning microscopy with advanced imaging techniques originally developed for
molecular movements, Spatio-Temporal Image Correlation Spectroscopy, we monitored the delivery of vesicles, the movements of organelles and the dynamics of the cytoskeleton. We use these motion
profiles to generate a mathematical model of intracellular trafficking to understand the logistic principles governing plant cell growth and division.

2007 - 2009

Post-doctoral research in plant biochemistry Center for Plant Science Innovation, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, USA
Principal Investigator: Dr. Gilles J. Basset "Vitamin K1 metabolism in photosynthetic organisms"
Vitamin K1 plays an important role in the redox status in plant and cyanobacteria photosynthesis, as an electron carrier in Photosystem I. We aim at understanding how plants synthesize and recycle
vitamin K1. Using a fluorescence HPLC-based technique we were able to detect and quantify, for the first time in plants, the reduced-form of vitamin K1. We showed that the ratio of the
oxidized/reduced forms decreases in the dark and in senescent leaves (van Oostende et al, Phytochem. 2008). Furthermore, based on bioinformatics we have identified new enzymes in vitamin K1
biosynthesis in plants (Kim et al., Plant J. 2008). My contribution to the characterization of these enzymes has used different functional genetic techniques (gene silencing and over-expression in
Arabidopsis and cyanobacteria), enzymatic assays, profiling of vitamin K1 levels by HPLC, and subcellular localization by transient expression of GFP-fused protein in tobacco leaves.

2002 - 2006

Ph.D. in plant cell biology and physiology INRA JRU Fruit Biology, Bordeaux, France
Principal Investigator: Pr. Jean-Pierre Renaudin "Quantitative analysis of auxin primary responses in tobacco cell suspension"
The aim of our project was to study early auxin-modulated responses using BY-2 cells as the cellular model. I first showed the quantitative effect of auxin concentrations on turgor, cell expansion,
cell division, cellular content of soluble components, and the ultrastructural modifications of BY-2 cells. Secondly, to understand the molecular mechanisms of auxin action on BY-2 cells, I performed
a genome-wide cDNA-AFLP based transcriptome analysis, at the "Plant System Biology" laboratory of Ghent (collaboration with D. Inzé and A. Goossens). About fifty tags corresponding to early auxin
regulated genes (first 6 h after treatment) were identified. One of the two primary auxin responsive genes, identified following cycloheximide treatment, seems to play an important role in the
regulation of cell proliferation.